Ghost
by MelBel7
Summary: What happens when Jane is shot and injured in the line of duty? As her best friend lays in a coma, Maura is distraught over the idea that Jane may never wake up. Dealing with her grief and struggling with the fact that Jane might never know how she truly feels, Maura starts to see things and questions her sanity. Rated M for language and future sexual situations. Eventual Rizzles.
1. Chapter 1- If Only Maura Knew

**So this story is based off of a prompt sent to me by mymariska a little while ago. I won't tell you the prompt just yet since it would give away the whole story, but I hope you enjoy this one. I originally intended for this to be a short story, but as I wrote it kind of started to take on a life of its own. Thoughts are in bold and flashbacks are in ****_italics_****. I hope you like this one and I haven't forgotten about Toxicology Reports, I'm just trying to figure out how to bring that story to a close. So until then, thanks again to mymariska for the prompt and enjoy! -ME**

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Ghost

Chapter 1- If only Maura knew

It had been three days. Three long, exhausting, excruciatingly lonely and silent days without her best friend and Maura wasn't sure how much longer she could take it. One day Jane was there, and then suddenly she wasn't. Maura didn't know if she would ever get to hear the brunette's deep voice as she regaled stories of her early days on the force or when she complained about her helicopter mother. Would she ever feel the comforting touch on her arm when Maura felt stuck on a case or was unsure of herself in a social situation? How was she to get through her days if she couldn't at least see Jane's dazzling smile every day, the one that was so full of love and adoration that the brunette reserved solely for the doctor. No. Maura didn't know what she was going to do now. And the worst part was, she didn't know if she would ever get the chance to tell Jane exactly how she felt about her. In all likelihood, the honey blonde was sure that that particular opportunity had been stolen from her, from them, by a drugged-out hulk of a man wielding his gun like it was a toy.

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_Three days ago… (Thursday morning)_

"God damnit! Why can't we catch a break on this case just once?" Jane growled in frustration before dropping her head into her hands and sighing dejectedly.

"You alright there partner?" Frost asked from over his own computer screen, his brow slightly furrowed.

"Yeah… no… sometimes I just wish killers would turn themselves in," she mumbled into her hands.

"If that were the case, I'm pretty sure one, if not both of us would be out of a job," replied Frost with a hint of humor in his voice. "Just imagine how it could be. The streets of Boston free of murderers since they'd all just surrender themselves. You'd be a plumber and I'd be a… well, maybe something with computers still, but you get the idea."

Jane's eyes peeked out through her fingers as she tried to glare at her partner but was met only with a smug grin. Clearly Frost had gotten used to the Rizzoli death glare, so it looked like the brunette needed to adopt a new one. **Maybe that's what I'll do this weekend while Maura's away on her dead people retreat.** She snorted to herself as she pictured the perfectly put-together blonde mucking her way through the backwoods of Massachusetts with people just as odd as she. Then again at the absurdity that without her best friend, she was resorting to staring at herself in a mirror all weekend in an attempt to come up with a new, menacing look to intimidate her partner. **Oh god, what's happened to me? Can't even spend a weekend alone anymore.**

In all honesty though, Jane knew that her life was inexplicably and irreversibly tied to the ME, and had been since the day Maura had offered to pay for her coffee while the brunette was dressed as a hooker. Even then, there was something about the doctor that had drawn Jane to her and once the whole hooker in fishnets thing had been sorted out, they had become such close friends in such a short period of time. Within weeks, there had been movie nights and sleepovers, dinner dates and early morning yoga sessions. Jane had never melded so perfectly with another person before, and it wasn't until recently that she had begun to realize why.

Over the past week, it seemed as if the two women had spent all of their free time together. They'd gone to work taking many breaks throughout the day to go see one another. They'd meet for lunch and go out or sit quietly together in a booth at the café. Then after work would meet each other in the lobby before heading to the Dirty Robber, or if one of them was working late, they'd end up at one of their homes where they would indulge in a night cap, some conversation, before falling asleep wrapped up in each other on the couch or in a bed. The cycle continued without either woman batting an eyelash at their proximity, both seeming to thoroughly enjoy the constant time together.

One night though, while the pair were sharing a particularly lovely bottle of pinot noir (Jane had forgone her customary beer since they were at her apartment and she had neglected to stock up), Maura mentioned that an old friend of hers was to be visiting town that Thursday and had called her asking if the honey blonde could spare an evening to go for dinner and drinks to catch up. When the doctor had seemed to shrug it off, and had avoided directly answering Jane's questions about this old friend, the brunette could think of only one reason that Maura would avoid saying what kind of old friend this was. Finally, Maura had admitted that the old friend was in fact a former classmate from medical school, but not just any former classmate.

_"Well, we, uh, we might have studied anatomy together?" The honey blonde's voice rose at the end of her sentenced caused Jane to press further._

_"Oh really? And was this anatomy studied in a classroom or…." The brunette trailed off, her eyebrow quirking up as she tried to coax a straight answer from her friend. _

_"Well, sometimes, but most of the time it was at my apartment. Kaleigh seemed to be able to, uh concentrate better when we didn't have any risk of disruptions."_

**_Uh huh… _**_"Were you studying as part of a class the two of you were taking?"_

_"Uhhh… no, not really. We may have… maybe we had been studying each other's anatomy? Well, I mean, it was anatomy, but it was just for a much more personal and… pleasurable reason."_

_And there it was. So this old friend of Maura's had actually been more than just a friend, at least physically. Jane didn't have any problem with Maura having had sexual relationships with other women. Hell, it meant there were better odds that maybe, just maybe the brunette had a shot with her smart and glamorous best friend. But the thought of Maura potentially ending up in the bed of someone else—another woman even—made Jane feel something she couldn't ever recall feeling. There was a hint of arousal at the idea of Maura melting into the sheets, writhing in pleasure and begging for more, but then there was something else at the idea of the cause of the blonde's bliss not being Jane. It felt like a vice clamped on her insides and a fire burning through her blood at the same time—jealousy. Jane was jealous of this woman that had had Maura before, and could possibly have her again on Thursday night. She didn't want anyone to be able to touch Maura that way, or love her that way, except for the brunette herself. No one was worthy of Maura Isles, not even her, but at least she understood the blonde. Cared for her. Protected her. Loved her. Love. That's what this was. Jane loved Maura, and she couldn't face the fact that she might not get to be the one that got to make love to the blonde. To touch her, or hold her, or whisper sweet words into her ear as she took Maura over the edge again and again. _

_Maura must have noticed something flash across chocolate orbs as she stopped talking to simply gaze at her best friend who seemed to be having some trouble breathing, and was obviously no longer listening. _

_"Jane?"_

_Nothing. Maura reached out and placed her hand on the detective's shoulder._

_"Jane?"_

_"Huh? What?" The brunette was pulled from her thoughts as her now refocused eyes met worried hazel. "Sorry, I was just, uh, thinking about how nice that must have been. So," Jane cleared her throat, "are you going to go meet up with her?"_

_Maura's eyes moved back and forth between Jane's, trying to figure out what had been bothering the brunette._

_"No."_

**_What? Did I just hear her right? 'No?'_**_Jane tried not to let her surprise show, and quickly regained control of herself. "Really? Why not?" she asked, hoping that her voice didn't give away her satisfaction with the answer._

_The blonde offered a gentle smile towards her friend. "That part of my life, and those in it, have long since passed. What I had with Kaleigh was purely physical. There was no meaning behind it, and it was just convenient. I see no reason why I should open up that can of larvae again. Especially not when I could just as easily spend a lovely evening with my best friend here or at the Dirty Robber."_

_"Eww. It's worms, Maur. Can of worms, not larvae. Blehh," said Jane, shaking her head in mock disgust. "But I'm honored that you would give up a night of potentially wonderful sex with a past girlfriend to spend a much less 'thrilling' evening with me." The brunette grinned at Maura, offering the blonde a full few of her dimples, her eyes full of love and adoration towards her friend.__** If only Maura knew how **_**thrilling****_ an evening with me could really be._**

But Thursday night never came.

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**So, let me know what you think! I have a few chapters already written and hope to make this about 15-20 chapters, but we'll see how it goes! Also, I'm still looking for ideas for a few 1-2 shots so PM me with ideas for what you might like to see. **


	2. Chapter 2- Thursday

**Thank you all for the AMAZING response to this story! It really means a lot to me. Also, how awesome and intense was last night's episode?! Anyway, I will try to update once a week or so, but for now here's chapter 2 a little early! Just a reminder, thoughts are in bold and flashbacks are in ****_italics_****. Enjoy! -ME**

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Chapter 2- Thursday

_Thursday_

Suddenly a loud _ping_ erupted from Frost's computer breaking the silence. Fingers quickly flying over his keyboard, the younger detective pulled up the notification window showing that the BOLO on their suspect had come back.

"Jane! Look at this!" he said excitedly as he lifted and rotated his monitor towards the brunette. "Patrol just spotted our suspect at a gas station in Charlestown. Looks like we found our victim's missing car too. The guy must have taken it after bashing our vic's head in."

The case they had caught the day before had left a 33 year-old man dead on the living room floor of his downtown apartment after having his skull bashed in by a novelty Red Sox mini-baseball bat. The place had been ransacked as if whoever killed him had been looking for something. Neighbors had told the detectives that the victim, Charlie Milton, had recently been buying all kinds of new and expensive gadgets and such, but to their knowledge, his only job was as a bartender at one of the local clubs. After searching the apartment, CSRU had found traces of PCP in some crumpled up plastic pouches beneath his bed. It seemed that Charlie had been making some extra cash selling PCP when a drug deal might have gone wrong. They'd had no real leads other than someone had spotted a very "hulked-up white guy" leaving Charlie's apartment just a few hours before his body was found and whatever the killer had used to bludgeon Charlie with, he had taken with him as he left the scene.

But now it looked like they'd finally caught a break.

"Fantastic! Maybe we can get this all wrapped up today so I can go home, unwind, and get an early start on my weekend." Jane stood, grabbing her blazer and digging her keys out from her desk drawer. Frost stood, pulling on his own blazer as the two walked towards the elevators.

"Big plans this weekend?" he asked, a devious grin playing across his lips.

**Oh just maybe telling Maura that I'm in love with her.** Jane had decided that after Maura had been willing to forgo a night on the town and in the bed of a former lover to spend time eating take-out on the brunette's old, worn couch with her, then maybe there was a chance that the honey blonde felt the same way. Besides, if she was wrong, then at least Maura was going to be out of town for the weekend, allowing the two women some space and time to get over Jane's confession. **What could go wrong?**

"Oh not really, I think I just really need some 'me' time and I might finally be able to enjoy it," replied Jane as the two detectives stepped into the elevator and descended down towards the parking garage.

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Arriving at the gas station, everything seemed fairly quiet. People were fueling their vehicles and going about their business, completely clueless as to the fact that a potential murderer was walking amongst them. Jane parked the unmarked cruiser off to the side of the parking area, hoping that if their suspect was inside that he wouldn't see them before they saw him and make a run for it. Climbing out of the vehicle, the two quickly spotted their victim's vehicle sitting unoccupied just a few spots over.

"Looks like no one's in the car, so our suspect must either be inside or he dumped the car and left," said Jane, squinting her eyes in the bright afternoon sunlight. **Maura's right, I really do need to get some new sunglasses.**

Jane and Frost slammed their doors shut and walked over to inspect the vehicle closer. "Plates match those registered to our victim," said the younger detective as he compared the car with the description they had of Charlie's. "Silver 2011 Chevy Malibu—even has the small dent above the left front fender."

"So it's definitely our vic's car, now we just gotta find the guy who drove it here." Jane scanned the area, taking one last look around before turning to her partner with a mischievous glint in her eye. "So Frost, you up for a slushie?"

"Oh hell yeah. Besides, I could go for a twinkie or two too," Frost grinned. The two detectives left the vehicle and made their way through the glass doors of the gas station. As soon as they entered, Jane heard some elevated voices back near the drink coolers.

"Hey Frost," she said, tilting her head towards the noise. "C'mon, let's go see what's going on back there." Cautiously making their way through the shelves filled with bags of candy and chips, the sight before them caused Jane and Frost to immediately halt in their tracks—both detectives placing their hands over their weapons.

In front of an opened drink cooler stood a hulk of a man, his beefy hands tearing through the shelves and ripping open bottles and bottles of Gatorade before dumping them into his open mouth. The man was sweating profusely, the muscles in his arms bulging while his face twitched showing clear signs of agitation. Something was not right. The man standing before them did not seem to be in his right mind.

"Uh, sir?" Frost's voice barely registered with the man, instead his attention shifted to a woman who was cowering near a beer display just a few feet away.

"WHERE'S THE MILK?!" he shouted, his voice boomed throughout the store, effectively causing everyone to clear out as fast as possible. The poor woman could only whimper in response. "WHERE. IS. THE. FUCKING. MILK?!" he repeated, only this time the man threw one of the drinks in his hand down to the floor and reached for the gun that had been tucked into the waistband of his jeans. As the man pulled his gun so did the detectives.

"Boston Police!" they shouted in unison. The man whirled around, his weapon swinging wildly towards Jane and Frost. It was then that they could get a good look at the man. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and soaking into his thin tshirt which was barely containing is hulking frame. The muscles in his face as well as those of his upper body were twitching uncontrollably and his pupils were pinpoints of black within his eyes. All signs of his being high on some kind of stimulant, and with his incessant demanding of milk, Jane was willing to bet that he had ingested quite a bit of PCP.

"Sir, I'm going to need you to put the gun down," said Jane as calmly as she could. One wrong move and the man could go into an uncontrollable, unpredictable rage complete with near-superhuman strength and a complete inability to feel pain. If that happened, it would be practically impossible to take him down without someone getting seriously injured.

"Sir? We just want to talk to you. Can you put the gun down please?" Jane asked again. The man simply grunted in response, his grip tightening on the weapon and his finger itched towards the trigger as his gaze frantically flashed between the two detectives. The situation was not going to get any better unless they found a way to get the gun out of the man's hand. He was clearly unstable, and there was no way the two of them could physically be able to take him down, but maybe a distraction might help.

The brunette glanced at Frost, giving him a slight nod of her head as she began to inch her way to the right, trying to get to an angle that might allow her to take the gun from him by surprise. Her partner continued to talk to the man, hoping that he would keep his eyes trained on Frost and not notice Jane's movements in the periphery.

"Sir, hey what's your name? Are you okay? Look, I just want to help you but I need you to put the gun down first." Frost kept talking, praying that this would work as he watched Jane inch closer. Just a few more feet and she would be close enough to make a move for the gun. "Hey now, how about you put the gun down and I'll go grab you some milk? How does that sound? I just need you to put the gun down, you don't want to make this any harder than it is."

Jane was closing in on the suspect, and Frost was doing perfectly in keeping him distracted. She was almost there. Just a few. More. Inches. The brunette slowly shifted her weapon to slide it back into the holster. However, she misjudged her distance from the nearest shelf and the movement sent her elbow straight back into several cans of Pringles, knocking several of them onto the floor. **Shit.**

The brunette's eyes went wide as the noise pulled the suspect's attention towards her. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Jane standing just a few feet behind him. Letting out a primal growl and went into a rage, spinning around with his gun pointing directly at her. The last thing Jane remembered was the deafening sound of one gunshot, swiftly followed by several others as the man in front of her fell to the floor, but not before she felt a thick, heavy pressure building up in her chest. She felt as if she was falling in slow motion, the sounds around her and Frost's voice screaming her name were muffled. As her body hit the floor and her vision blurred, there was only one thought running through Jane's mind. **Maura. I never got to tell her…**

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**Another note, this bit about a guy on PCP is based on a true story. Had a case were there was a guy who ran into a gas station in nothing but his robe screaming "Where's the milk?!" Went back to where the milk was, ripped the top off one, gulped it down, started vomiting all over the place (cuz that's what too much milk will do to you, i.e. the Gallon Challenge) before collapsing and dying of PCP overdose. Always remember kids, don't do drugs!  
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	3. Chapter 3- Go Home Maura

**Wow. I still can't believe how many people have already followed and favorited this story. Your support amazes me, and really pushes me to write more. This chapter is trying to set up Maura's state of mind, but I hope you all enjoy it! Remember, thoughts in bold, flashbacks in** _italics._ **-ME**_  
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Chapter 3- Go Home Maura

It had been three days since Jane had been shot. Three days since Maura was supposed to have spent a quiet evening in with her best friend, eating take out and snuggling up to watch a movie before the blonde left for her medical examiners' retreat. Instead, the doctor had canceled her trip and had spent the past few days at Jane's bedside.

The bullet fired by the suspect had exploded through Jane's chest, passing clear through her left lung and grazing her heart along its path. The injury almost killed her. Almost. Instead, the brunette had spent the last few days in a coma with a ventilator breathing for her and an IV drip providing her body with nutrients. The doctors had taken her off of the heavy sedatives yesterday, but there was still no indication of Jane waking up any time soon. Which meant there was no indication of Maura leaving the brunette's bedside any time soon either.

In moments like this, when the honey blonde was left alone with Jane's unconscious form, Maura had taken to talking to the brunette. Telling her about her day, how everyone at the precinct already missed her, how her family missed her, and how if she just had been able to see the brunette that Thursday night, she may have even told her how she felt.

Currently, Maura was perched in one of the hard plastic visitor chairs huddled as close to Jane's hospital bed as physically possible. If she'd been able to, Maura would have climbed right into the bed with her, but she knew she wasn't allowed to and it probably wouldn't be good for Jane's injuries either. So there she sat, both of her hands cradling Jane's right one and marveling at how beautiful her detective looked even then.

"Jane. Please wake up Jane. I need you. I miss my best friend. Please Jane, just open your eyes." Maura pleaded softly. She hadn't eaten or slept properly, and all she could think of doing was curling up on the couch with her best friend. They could even be watching one of those horrid 'Alien' movies that Jane loved so much, as long as she could have those strong arms around her and hear Jane's voice telling her to stop explaining all the things that were scientifically wrong with the movie and just enjoy it. Instead, she just tightened her grip on Jane's hand and continued to urge the brunette to open her eyes.

A few hours later, Angela walked into her daughter's hospital room and smiled softly. There before her was a sight she wished would become the norm one day. Maura had fallen asleep with her head resting on the bed next to Jane's thigh, her honey blonde tresses fanned out over the bed with her hands still clasped around the brunette's. Angela couldn't understand that with as smart and intuitive as her daughters were, they couldn't see what was right in front of them. Now she wondered if they would ever even get the chance to. Taking a deep breath, the elder Rizzoli gathered herself and walked further into the room.

"Maura, honey," Angela gently shook the blonde's shoulder as she tried to rouse her.

"Hmm…" Maura lightly groaned, nestling further into the side of Jane's leg. Before mumbling, "Five more minutes."

The elder Rizzoli smiled, Jane has been quite the influence on the honey blonde. "Maura, wake up. You should go home and rest."

Finally hazel eyes fluttered open. "Angela?" she asked groggily as she started to sit up and clear the sleep from her eyes. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, honey. Everything is fine. But you can't be comfortable, Maura. When's the last time you went home and got some decent rest? Or a decent meal?"

"Well, I've gotten in some good naps here, and the fruit and yogurt in the cafeteria is actually quite good," Maura replied as she tried, and failed to smooth out the wrinkles from the dress she'd been wearing for the past 48 hours.

"Maura, you need to be taking care of yourself. What will Janie say when she wakes up and sees you like this? You know she won't be very happy with either one of us," said Angela giving the blonde a loving smile before pulling Maura to her feet.

"I know you're right Angela," she admitted before casting a longing glance down towards Jane. "I just don't want to leave her. What if she wakes up and I'm not here? I need to be here for her, Angela. I just, I don't know what else to do without her. She's my best friend…" Maura trailed off, trying to hold back tears.

"Oh baby." Angela pulled the doctor into a motherly embrace, softly cooing into her ear. "It's going to be alright Maura. Our Janie is a fighter. She'll pull through this." The elder Rizzoli pulled back slightly and placed a finger beneath the honey blonde's chin, lifting her gaze.

"Now you listen to me. _When_ Jane wakes up, she's going to need us, need you, to be well rested and ready to help her get better. She's strong, but she's going to need you to be strong too. In order for that to happen, you need to get a good night's sleep and a nice meal in you." Angela's gaze never wavered from Maura's as she spoke.

When the blonde started to object, she was cut off. "I don't want to hear any protest from you. You can be just as stubborn as my daughter sometimes, but I know you will listen to reason most of the time. You need to go home and stay at home tonight. Get a good night's sleep in your own bed. I made lasagna earlier today and left some in the fridge for you. Eat it. You can come back tomorrow and resume your post, but until then, I will sit here and call you if anything happens, but I don't want to see you until at least 9am tomorrow morning."

Angela could still see Maura's reluctance to leave, but also the acceptance that the honey blonde needed to go home if she was to be of any use when Jane woke up. If she woke up. As a doctor, Maura knew that comas were always tricky, and each person responded differently, but with the extent of Jane's injuries, she was still very nervous that Jane wouldn't wake up. **But Angela's right. Jane is a fighter. She just has to wake up, she has to.** Maura couldn't bring herself to imagine life without Jane if she didn't. The idea alone made her freeze up in fear, her heart stopping and her breath catching in her chest. Quickly shaking the thoughts from her head, Maura finally agreed to go home, but with the promise that she would return promptly at 9am the following morning.

Angela pulled the blonde in for another hug before releasing her and pushing her gently towards the door. Maura took the hint and softly smiled before leaning back towards Jane and saying goodbye to the brunette.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Jane. I promise. You just behave for your mother while I'm gone okay?" She pressed a kiss to the side of Jane's head before gathering her purse and coat in her arms and heading home.

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Shuffling into her home, Maura barely took the time to kick off her heels by the door and haphazardly dropped her purse and coat down onto the couch. She slowly made her way into the kitchen where she pulled out the leftover container of lasagna Angela had left for her and put it into the oven to warm up before making her way upstairs to take a quick shower.

The steady stream of warm water cascaded over her body as Maura tried to let it rinse away the hopelessness she felt. Three days without her best friend, three days without an indication that Jane would wake up, had taken its toll on the doctor. But tonight she needed to take care of herself so that she could go back to the hospital and be there for Jane.

She shut the water off and stepped out of the shower, quickly toweling herself off and blow drying her hair before throwing on one of Jane's old BPD tshirts and a pair of the detective's sweatpants, rolling them up several times to fit her shorter legs. Heading back downstairs, Maura pulled the lasagna from the oven and decided to just eat from the container instead of plating it nicely like she normally would. She ate quickly and without really tasting the food, but finished the meal within minutes, not realizing how hungry she had actually been.

Maura cleaned up the kitchen behind her, barely catching herself when she reached into the fridge to pull out some strawberries for Bass before remembering that she had asked his normal caretaker to take him for a while. A few minutes later, Maura had finally crawled into bed, curling herself around the pillow that Jane had last used two nights before the shooting when she'd been too tired to get herself home.

The soft down still smelled faintly of lavender and linen, as Maura wrapped herself in the scent of Jane and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep with thoughts of her best friend in her head, hoping that tomorrow she would get to see those beautiful chocolate brown eyes open again. And maybe this time, she would finally tell Jane that she was in love with her. Jane just needed to wake up first.

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**I'm going to try posting every Sunday, this one is a bit early though since I'm busy tomorrow. Things start to pick up in the next chapter, I promise! xo**


	4. Chapter 4- Am I Dreaming?

**Here we go everyone! Chapter 4! This chapter should start to give you an idea of what's going on ;) Enjoy! -ME**

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Chapter 4- Am I Dreaming?

The following morning, Maura was awoken by her alarm promptly at 7am. Still exhausted and groggy, she reached over and hit the snooze button—a habit she had picked up from Jane over the years but rarely did she ever actually roll over and go back to sleep. Usually the blonde would use that time to turn and gaze at Jane, her face so worry-free when she slept, or she would take the time to tease the brunette into getting up.

However, this morning, Maura closed her eyes once again and dozed for 9 more minutes. When her alarm went off again, the blonde made no motion to turn it off. Instead, she let the soft sounds of Chopin flow from her phone.

"Mmm… five more minutes, Maur."

Maura's eyes flew open. Of all the things she was expecting to hear, the raspy morning voice of her best friend was not one of them. She immediately turned to her other side hoping to find Jane next to her. What she found was a pile of covers and the pillow she had clung to last night, but no Jane.

**I must still be half-asleep. Of course Jane isn't here. Just my own wishful thinking. **

Begrudgingly, Maura pulled herself from her bed and made her way towards her en suite to go through her morning routine. Once she was finished, she entered back into her room but one glance towards the bed made her stop dead in her tracks. She couldn't believe her eyes. **Am I still dreaming?**

There, sitting on the edge of the bed was her favorite brunette detective rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Man I hate Monday mornings. There needs to be another day in between the weekend and Monday," Jane drawled.

"Jane?" Maura whispered, almost afraid that the woman before her would actually answer. Jane couldn't possibly be here. She should still be laying in her hospital bed. And Angela had promised she would call the honey blonde if there were any changes during the night. "Jane what are you doing here?"

"Well good morning to you Maura," Jane responded sarcastically. "I always stay over after Sunday dinner. Or have you forgotten already?"

"But, we didn't have Sunday dinner yesterday," Maura said dumbfounded. "We haven't had any family dinners since you were…" She couldn't continue her sentence. Surely this was some kind of hallucination resulting from her lack of proper sleep and nutrition over the past few days. Angela was right, she did need to take better care of herself if she was to be able to take care of Jane.

"Since I was what? And of course we had Sunday dinner. We always have Sunday dinner unless we catch a case. Last night we even had… umm… what did we have last night again?"

"This can't be real. This can't be happening," Maura muttered to herself, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes. When she opened them Jane was nowhere to be found. **I guess it was just a hallucination.**

Maura dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a casual top before making her way downstairs to prepare a small, healthy breakfast for herself. She had to eat better if she was to stop herself from seeing things and decided on making some yogurt with fruit and granola this morning.

Pulling a bowl down from the cabinets, Maura turned to place it on the counter behind her but what she saw in front of her caused the dish to slip from her fingers. Jane was perched on a stool at the counter watching the honey blonde intently.

"I don't know how you get through the day just eating that yogurt and granola crap, Maur. I'd be starving by mid-morning." The brunette grinned up at the medical examiner before motioning towards the fancy espresso machine sitting on the counter. "So you gonna make some coffee or am I gonna have to direct the coffee porn this morning?"

Maura just stared out the brunette, her jaw hanging open in disbelief. "I…I… how?"

Jane stood up smiling. "Well then Dr. Isles, I'm just going to go get dressed while you figure out how to work your jaw again. And if you're feeling up to it, a cup of coffee would be really nice when I get back down too." The brunette gave a quick wink before turning on her heel and walking… straight through the wall?

The blonde shook her head. That did not just happen! People can't walk through walls! And ghosts can't be real, can they? So many conflicting thoughts were rushing through Maura's mind. What her eyes had seen was in direct conflict with her rational, scientific mind. The next thing she knew, there was a whisper of a breeze blowing over her shoulder. She spun around and there was Jane, only this time wearing the same clothes that Maura had last seen her wearing on Thursday.

"Maur, you might want to close your mouth before the bugs make a nest in there."

She snapped her jaw shut and stared up into chocolate orbs, searching for some kind of explanation as to how Jane could be here, or how she was able to walk through walls now. Suddenly everything thought came pouring out of Maura's mouth at once as the blonde threw her hands in the air and gestured wildly.

"Jane, how can you be here? You were shot! You died! You've been in a coma for three days! And now you're here? Like a ghost? How can this be? This makes no sense. The existence of ghosts, or spirits, or whatever has not been proven by science. I must be hallucinating. That can be the only explanation." Maura rambled on and on, her fingers grasping at her hair as Jane simply watched in amusement, and confusion. **Shot? Coma?**

"Maur, hey, slow down there! You're rambling!" Jane stepped closer to the honey blonde and moved to wrap her arms around her in an attempt to calm her down, but surprised both women when her arms simply fell right through Maura. "Whaa…? Maur?"

Maura's expression mirrored Jane's own of shock and utter confusion. "Did you just… go…_through_…me? Jane? How is this possible?" She stepped up closer to the brunette, her hands hovering over Jane's body, afraid to touch her for fear of repeating what just happened.

"I..I think so?" Jane stammered. "I was hoping you could explain this to _me_. What is wrong with me?" Her voice cracked at the end, panic starting to take over as Jane began to move about the kitchen attempting to pick things up and getting more flustered when she found that she couldn't. Maura could only watch. She had no clue what to do, no references to refer to, no peer review studies or facts or figures.

"Jane. I am just as lost as you are on this. Tell me, how did you get here?" She asked as she moved closer to Jane, hoping to calm her down so they could figure this out together.

"I..I'm not sure. I just woke up in your bed. I could have sworn we had family dinner yesterday and I was just waking up as usual on a Monday morning next to my best friend."

"But Jane, I know for a fact that the last I saw you, you were lying in a hospital bed still in a coma as a result of you being shot through the chest by a suspect."

"Shot? But I don't even remember being shot. Are you sure?" Jane seemed even more confused than before. She looked back towards the doctor. "I think I would remember something like that happening, Maur."

"You and Frost had gotten a tip that the victim's vehicle had been spotted at a gas station. When you went to take a look you encountered a man inside that matched the description of the last person to see the victim. But he was experiencing a PCP-induced bout of psychosis and when you tried to disarm him, he shot you. Fired nearly point-blank into your chest. You died Jane. They were able to save you but you've been in a coma ever since." Tears were starting to form in the blonde's eyes, distress evident in her voice. Her eyes locked onto the brunette's as she whispered the last part. "You just won't wake up. I just want you to wake up, Jane."

Realization flashed across Jane's face as she spoke softly. "I was… shot. Right after I knocked over that.. that _fucking_ can of Pringles." She moved her right hand to cover her chest, right over where she had been shot. Suddenly her eyes went wide as a red stain began to spread beneath her fingers. "I was shot. I… died…" she whispered, her voice trailing off.

Maura watched in horror as the stain got larger, turning the front of Jane's green shirt a dark, ugly color, just as it had on Thursday.

"JANE!" she screamed as the brunette's form began to fade, disappearing into thin air. Her hands grasping at the air trying to take hold of Jane and physically keep her there, but to no avail.

"Maurraaa! What do I do?" Jane pleaded desperately. "I don't want to go, please Maura help me!"

"I don't know how! Jane! Don't leave me! Please don't leave me!" The smaller woman was now in hysterics. Here she was with a chance to see her best friend again, the woman she was secretly in love with, and now she was being ripped away again by some unknown force until Jane was gone without a trace.

Maura slumped to the floor against the kitchen cabinets, her head falling into her hands as sobs wracked her body. "I don't know how, Jane. Please don't leave me. I can't stand to be without you," she whispered to the empty room. She was alone once again.

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**And cue the tears... Let me know what y'all think!**


	5. Chapter 5- Listen to My Intestines

**Thank you all for the AMAZING support for this story! I love seeing all the new reviews, follows and favs, and thanks to those who have been around from the beginning. I hope this chapter starts to explain a little bit more of what's happening... emphasis on _starts_. Anyway, enjoy and let me know what you think! -ME**

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Chapter 5- Jane?

After several minutes of desperate crying, Maura pulled herself up from the floor, wiping the tears from her now bloodshot eyes. **I have to get to the hospital. I have to see her.**

She stood resolutely, grabbing her keys and sprinting out the door and to her car, determined to get to the hospital in record time. Breaking several traffic laws and pushing her little Prius harder than the poor electric motor should ever have to endure, Maura finally pulled into a parking spot and hurried inside to Jane's room. Sliding around the corner, nearly missing the doorway, Maura finally found herself standing at the foot of Jane's hospital bed.

"Oh no…" she whispered.

The bed was empty. Jane was gone. Maura bolted out of the room, nearly knocking down a nurse who was making her rounds.

"Where is she?" Maura begged the woman.

"Excuse me?"

"Jane Rizzoli… the woman in this room. Where is she?" the blonde asked again. The nurse glanced at the empty room behind her.

"I'm sorry, but I can only release that information to family and next of kin," the nurse responded sternly.

"I am next of kin. My name is Dr. Maura Isles. If you check her file I'm her emergency contact and am listed as next of kin."

"Oh, forgive me Dr. Isles. Miss Rizzoli had a seizure of some kind and was rushed to surgery about an hour ago. The convulsions caused her stitches to tear open, her lung collapsed and there was also some internal bleeding."

"Oh no. Is she going to be alright?"

"I'm not sure, but I can send the doctor in to speak with you as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Nurse…"

"Jamie. You can call me Jamie. You're welcome, and if you need anything else Dr. Isles, I'll be up at the nurses' station."

Giving Jamie a slight nod of acknowledgement, Maura made her way back into Jane's room and resumed her post in the hard plastic chair, and waited for news from Jane's doctor. As the weight of the situation began to weigh further on her, Maura couldn't keep herself together. This morning had been one of the craziest of her life and her emotions were a mess. Jane's life was hanging in the balance once again and suddenly there was wetness rolling down her cheeks. She hadn't even noticed the tears beginning, but once she did, they increased exponentially, pouring down her face and soaking her shirt. Sobs wracked her thin frame as she buried her face in her hands.

Some time must have passed then because the next thing she knew, Maura was being gently shaken awake once again by Angela. She must have cried herself to sleep, since she found herself laying across the edge of Jane's empty bed. Looking up into Angela's eyes, the elder Rizzoli offered Maura a soft smile.

"Maura, I'm glad you went home and got some sleep. You're looking a little better today. But I need you to get up so that they can bring Jane back in here," she said motioning to the team of doctors and nurses behind her who were pushing a gurney back into the room. The brunette looked so small and pale against the white sheets of the bed, but what concerned Maura most were the several new machines and drips being pushed along behind her. The ventilator breathing for her seemed even larger and more intimidating than the one she'd had before and the heart rate monitor sang its sad, slow beat reminding Maura that Jane was still there.

Maura immediately stood up allowing the team to maneuver Jane back into her hospital bed and reattach all the tubes and wires keeping her alive. "Oh Jane…" she spoke in a hushed voice, hesitantly reaching out to place her hand over the brunette's arm. "Don't you dare do that to me again."

Angela wrapped an arm around the honey blonde and gently pulled her back while the two women watched as Jane was settled back in. "Once they're done here, why don't you sit and keep Jane company while I go speak with the doctor and track down some lattes for us," the Rizzoli matriarch spoke softly to Maura, giving a gentle squeeze before following the nurses out of the room, allowing Maura to once again take her seat beside Jane's bedside.

"Oh Jane. You scared me so much. Don't you dare do that again. I don't think I could handle it. Just this morning I started having hallucinations. I saw you Jane. You were in my bed, and then in my kitchen. I think I'm losing it, and all because you're not here."

The honey blonde took a deep breath before once again took Jane's right hand in her left, her free hand reaching up to brush a lock of raven hair out of the brunette's face. Gazing down at her best friend with such a loving smile, Maura continued to speak, her thumb gently rubbing along Jane's jaw as she urged the detective to open her eyes.

"Jane, please come back to me. Please wake up. I have to tell you the truth. I need you to wake up, Jane, because I love you. I'm _in_ love with you and I don't know how I can be without you. Please, please let me see those beautiful brown eyes of yours. I love you so much Jane, wake up so I can tell you."

Maura's voice broke as she spoke the last sentence, tears threatening her eyes once again. She tightened her grasp on Jane's hand as she leaned up and pressed her lips to the brunette's temple. Taking her seat once again, the honey blonde continued to run her thumb over the back of Jane's limp hand until a voice broke the silence.

"You just did, Maur."

The doctor spun around in her seat and gasped as her eyes fell on the vision of Jane leaning against the wall next to the door, still dressed in the same black slacks and green shirt that she'd been wearing on Thursday, except this time with no dark red stain over the chest. Maura then turned and looked back to the bed where Jane's physical form still lay.

"Whaa? I… Jane? I thought I was dreaming earlier. How are you here…" she said motioning to the Jane by the door, before turning and looking at the Jane in the bed "but also there?"

"I don't quite understand it either, Maur, but here I am," Jane said just as confused before adding, "and apparently there as well."

The brunette pushed off from the wall and slowly approached Maura who rose from her seat to hesitantly meet her, her hands hovering still not sure if she should try to touch Jane again.

"I can't say I'm complaining, since I still get to see you, but I just don't understand. How can I be lying there but still be able to appear to you?" Jane asked as she stopped just a foot in front of the doctor. "The only possibility that keeps running through my head is that I'm here as some kind of spirit or ghost or something."

"I don't understand either, but I don't care. You're here, at least in some form," Maura said lovingly. "I don't think I'd make it if you weren't."

The brunette reached her hand up to caress Maura's cheek, but instead of warm, scarred palms, the blonde felt a cool tingle like a breeze in springtime.

"Don't worry Maura. I'll always be here for you, nothing will ever change that. Not even some crazy, drugged up psycho with a gun."

Maura had dropped back to her seat, the intensity and still sheer disbelief of Jane standing before her was nearing too much to handle. After a moment, she was able to utter a single sentence, her hazel eyes meeting Jane's, shinning with such adoration, and some still unshed tears. "Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise." Jane smiled, her full dimples showing before her face becoming slightly more serious. "But only if you tell me something."

"What do you want to know?" Maura asked quietly.

The brunette paused, her fingers traced down Maura's arm before moving to cover the doctor's with her own, the sensations causing goosebumps to appear across pale skin.

"Did you mean it?"

The blonde looked up, her eyebrows knitting in confusion. "Mean what?"

Jane took a deep breath, quickly looking down at their hands to gathering herself before looking back up to speak again, her nervousness apparent. "Did you mean it when you said you loved me?"

Moisture began to gather in Maura's eyes as she looked up into pools of brown. "I…I…" she stammered, her mouth gaping like that of a fish as she tried to figure a way around answering truthfully.

Jane held up a finger to the blonde's lips, cutting her off. "Please Maura, answer my question. It's a simple yes or no."

Hazel eyes flashed down to the floor and her lips moved as she murmured her answer too softly for Jane to hear.

"What was that?" The brunette moved a finger to Maura's chin, and although she couldn't touch the blonde, the action alone pulled Maura's gaze to hers. Chocolate brown orbs, so full of understanding and adoration and…love, searched for an answer. When Maura realized how Jane as looking at her, a single word fell from the doctor's lips in a whisper only Jane could hear.

"Yes."

Jane felt her heart drop. **She loves me. Here I thought she'd never feel the same way, and now it may be too late.**

"Oh, Maura." The brunette immediately moved to wrap her arms around the blonde who was trying valiantly to hold back tears, trails of moisture trickling over her cheeks, until Jane realized that she couldn't actually hold Maura and comfort her like she wanted to. She hesitated briefly when Maura's head snapped up, surprise written across her face.

"Wait, Jane do that again."

"Do what?" asked the brunette, just as confused as her best friend.

"Wrap your arms around me again, please. I think I felt something. It wasn't like… before, but it's almost as if I could feel the essence of you around me. I'm not sure how to explain it," she said, her brow furrowing as she tried to find the words to explain what she had felt.

Jane acquiesced and again tried to place her arms around Maura, hoping to feel the warm, slight frame of the woman before her. What she felt instead was something otherworldly. Instead of a solid body physically stopping her arms, Jane felt a warm, tingly feeling throughout every part of her that was supposed to making contact with Maura. Jane gasped at how she could feel the blonde without actually touching her.

"I can feel you Jane, not the solid touch like before, but I can feel you. Your warmth, your strength. It's almost as if… as if you're within me. But that can't be possible… can it?" Maura asked quietly, trying to snuggle further into the embrace, hoping that the touch would become solid so that she could truly hug Jane in return.

"I don't know Dr. Smartypants, is it? I'm not so sure this is even really real to begin with."

The doctor pulled back just enough to lift her gaze up to Jane's. "What do you mean? I know I feel the same way, that this can't be real, but that's because you shouldn't even be here. You're supposed to be over there, laying in that bed," she said jerking her head back towards Jane's limp, physical form.

"It's just that… I never thought you could feel the same way about me. I never thought you could love me the way I love you, am _in_ love with you. But you do," she sniffed, trying to hold back from crying. "You do love me, but now I'm just hoping that it's not too late. That soon I'll wake up and be able to do this for real," Jane added glancing down at their almost embrace.

"That's all I want Jane. I love you so much, I just want you to wake up so we _can_ do this. So we can be us. Why won't you wake up Jane? Please," Maura whined, her voice starting to crack as tears once again threatened to fall.

"I don't know, Maur. I'm trying, I really am. But it feels as if I'm being held down, like there's some force pushing me back into the darkness. I'm scared. I promise you that I'm trying though. Just please, be patient for me," said Jane, her voice also wavering with the thick emotions swirling around the two women.

"I promise, Jane. I promise. Just please, hurry up and come back to me."

At that moment, Angela came walking back into the room and was startled to see Maura on her feet, facing away from Jane's bed, silent tears running down her face. Her arms were held out in front of her as if she was holding someone, but there was no one else in the room with her.

"Maura, honey, are you alright?"

The sound of the Rizzoli matriarch's voice snapped Maura attention to the door, suddenly confused as to where Jane had gone. **She was right here. Where did she go?**

The blonde tried to find words as she spun around and looked back down at her best friend's still form lying in the hospital bed just as she was before with no indication that Jane had moved at all. **But I was just holding her, talking to her. She said she loved me too. Did I imagine all of this?** The thoughts swirled in Maura's head, her feet frozen to the floor and her gaze stuck on Jane's body lying in the bed, looking even smaller and paler than she'd ever been.

Angela sensed the unsureness in the medical examiner's frantic movements and silence. Swiftly making her way over to Maura, she pulled the blonde into her arms and began stroking her hair as Maura buried her face against Angela's chest. Finally allowing herself to cry, Maura's tears stained both of the women's shirts as sobs wracked her body.

After a few minutes, Angela was finally able to calm the younger woman down, whispering soothing words to her and running a comforting hand along her back. "There, there Maura. It's going to be alright. Janie will come back to us, she has to. But Maura," she questioned slightly putting the blonde at arm's length. "Who were you talking to? Was there someone else here?"

Maura looked back at Angela unsure of what to say, her uncertainty apparent. On one hand, her logical brain was telling her that no one could have possibly been in the room. It had just been Maura and the still unconscious form of her best friend. But on the other hand, her heart and her gut were telling her that Jane had been there. Not in physical form, but somehow, the spirit of Jane had been there—talking to her. Comforting her. Loving her.

"I… I'm not sure Angela. I don't really know," Maura answered softly. **But somehow I know Jane was here. And maybe it's time I started listening to my intestines.**


	6. Chapter 6- Let Me Prove It

**So this chapter is a bit longer since there's no guarantee that I will have Ch. 7 ready on time. End of the semester means not only do I have exams and presentations due, but I also have my students doing their final reports and projects and organizing a mock crime scene. Thank you all for the continued support! -ME**

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Chapter 6- Let me prove it

Maura and Angela made themselves comfortable, or at least as comfortable as they could in the hard plastic visitor's chair. After several attempts at crossing her legs while keeping the arm rest from digging into her side, Maura made a mental note to make a call so there would be better chairs for later visits. But for now, the honey blonde was too preoccupied with her thoughts about Jane, and how it was possible she had been seeing the brunette while her body lay in the hospital bed. **There's got to be some kind of explanation. Maybe I am going crazy? No, could I? Studies have shown that major trauma such as the near loss of a loved one can cause psychological issues, and even hallucinations. Maybe while I'm here I should have some tests run, but that would take me away from Jane and what if she wakes….**

"Maura!"

The doctor was broken from her thoughts at the sound of Angela calling her name quite loudly. The elder Rizzoli was leaning on the edge of her own chair, her eyes full of concern.

"Huh?" came a very un-Maura like response from the doctor.

"Honey, are you alright? I've been calling your name for nearly a minute straight," Angela spoke in a worried tone. "I've never seen you so distracted before."

"Oh, well I.. uh, I guess I didn't sleep well last night, and then I was thinking about having some tests run…" answered the blonde. **Technically not a lie.**

"Honey, I think the doctors have run all the tests they can on Janie right now, but if there's one you think they missed, please tell them. I trust your judgment, and I know Jane would too."

**I wasn't talking about tests for Jane…** "I was just running through some possibilities Angela, but you're right, I can't think of any more that would benefit Jane. I promise if I do think of one that I will bring it to the attention of her doctors."

"Well good," said Angela with a slight smile as she leaned back into her chair. "Now, please tell me you had at least some of the food I left you. You still look hungry, and a little pale. Janie wouldn't like it if she knew you weren't taking care of yourself…"

The Rizzoli matriarch knew that Jane and Maura had feelings for each other, but both were just too scared to admit it. Before the doctor had come into her life, Jane had been more closed off about her personal life and had few friends. Angela knew that if Jane didn't go to the Dirty Robber with her coworkers after work, then she would have been in her apartment drinking beer by herself and watching SportsCenter. Now though, she knew that the brunette detective went out and enjoyed herself, even if it was always in the company of Maura. It actually made Angela happy to know that her daughter was being taken care of when she couldn't be around, and that the honey blonde was getting Jane to open up and try new things. She also loved that Jane had made Maura a part of the family, and now Angela could have her girly girl daughter, in addition to her rough-and-tumble tomboy Jane. If the two of them loved each other, then it would only bring Maura further into the family, and bring Jane closer as well.

"Yes of course, Angela. It was delicious as always. I know I don't say it enough, but I really do love and appreciate everything you do for me, even though I am not your real daughter," Maura said gratefully, but with a hint of sadness at the end.

"Nonsense. You are one of my daughters Maura. Ever since the first time Jane brought you to Sunday Dinner, I knew there was something special between you two and that one day, you would be a true part of this family." As Angela said this, she looked the honey blonde straight in the eyes, trying to convey her thoughts that Maura was a part of the family already, and that she would support the two women if they ever took that step beyond friendship.

Maura smiled back, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. "Thank you, Angela. You don't know what that means to me," she said, her voice breaking with emotion.

"Of course, honey. Now we just need to be here for Janie, as a family. I know she'll pull through Maura." **If not for us, then I know she will for you.**

The two women spent the next few hours discussing everything from how big TJ had been getting, to what kinds of healthy recipes Angela might be able to try to sneak on to the menu at the café. Right around 2pm, Frankie appeared in the doorway, knocking softly on the frame.

"Hey ladies, mind if I come in?" he asked lightly, not wanting to ruin the apparent good mood of the room.

"Hey Frankie!" Angela rose from her chair to pull her son into her patented embrace before placing a kiss on his cheek. "How's everyone at the station?"

"Everyone's doing alright, Ma. They're all just missing Jane. It's just not the same without her there, I think even Crowe is starting to miss her," he replied jokingly. "Ya hear that Janie? Everyone misses you, even the guys you're probably glad to get away from."

Maura cracked a smile. She knew that Jane absolutely hated Crowe, maybe even more than Dr. Pike, but even she would have gotten a laugh at the idea of Detective Darren Crowe even slightly missing her presence.

"Probably only misses me cuz now he has to deal with my cases and actually be a detective," came a deep chuckle from the corner of the room near Jane's bed. Maura's head whipped up towards the voice. **Jane?** Looking up, there was no one there. But surely the honey blonde hadn't been the only one to hear Jane's trademark deep drawl, had she?

After a moment, Maura returned her attention back towards Frankie who was spouting off stories of what had been going on at BPD over the past two days. The doctor had to admit, it was nice to hear about the place and the people that she had become to know and love.

"…and then Cavanaugh comes up right behind Korsak just as he opens this video of puppies crawling all over some babies. Let's just say he won't have access to YouTube for a while," Frankie's laughter bounced off the walls of the hospital room as Angela joined in, albeit a little quieter. A grin spread over Maura's face as she tuned back into the conversation right at the end.

"Serves the old man right! He's supposed to be keeping Frankie and Frost in line while I'm not there, and instead he's watching animal videos. Go figure." Again, there was Jane's voice. Only this time when Maura looked up, there was Jane standing just behind her mother chuckling along with her family and grinning towards Maura.

The honey blonde couldn't help but look between the standing, laughing version of Jane, and the Jane that was lying in the bed not a foot from her. She must have looked between the two more than a few times because the next thing she knew, Angela had risen from her seat and was crouched down next to Maura, her hand running along the length of the medical examiners arm in a soothing pattern.

"Maura, honey," the soothing voice of the elder Rizzoli pulled Maura's attention from the two Jane's and to Angela's concerned gaze. "Are you sure you're alright? You seem awfully distracted today. Why don't you go home and go to sleep. Frankie and I can hold down the fort for tonight."

Hesitating, Maura glanced back up to see Jane still standing behind her mother's chair with her arms folded over her chest. Her eyes met deep brown ones that shone with warmth before noticing Jane offering a slight nod of permission. "Go on, Maura. I'll be alright. You need to sleep some too, you know. I can't be the one resting enough for the both of us," Jane's image said with a hint of mirth in her voice.

"I.. yes. I think I will go home. I am quite tired. Thank you Angela. I will see you tomorrow then," Maura said as she gathered her purse and rose from her seat. She placed a quick kiss to the temple of the comatose Jane lying beside her before making her way towards the door. "Goodbye Frankie, it was really nice to see you. Tell everyone I said hello."

Frankie smiled and waved towards Maura as he took the seat she had occupied. "Bye Maura. I'll tell them, but I hope that soon you'll be able to tell them all for yourself," he said with a soft smile.

**Oh he looks so much like Jane when he does that.** Maura shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she offered a quick wave and turned on her heels and made her way out of the hospital.

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Upon entering her home, Maura simply grabbed a granola bar and a bottle of water from her kitchen before heading upstairs to her bedroom. She wasn't hungry at the moment, but knew that in a little while she would need to eat something and didn't feel like having to come back down. Once in her room, she set the food down on her nightstand and stripped down to just her lavender lace panties, tossing her dress unceremoniously over the back of the reading chair that occupied the corner of her room. Maura then rooted through one of "Jane's drawers" and pulled out a well-worn Red Sox shirt, pulling the cotton fabric to her face and inhaling deeply. The shirt still smelled of Jane, and right now, with all this confusion, Maura knew she needed the comfort of her best friend. And if the brunette wasn't here to give that to her in person, then at least maybe the smell of her t-shirt would be enough. After all, the sense of smell in the sense most strongly linked to memory and can evoke the strongest of emotions.

Quickly pulling the material over her head, Maura climbed beneath her sheets and curled into herself, making sure that the fabric of the t-shirt rested just beneath her nose. Taking one last deep breath, Maura sent out one more silent plea to the universe to bring Jane back to her, before giving herself up to the depths of unconsciousness. **Please Jane. Please come back to me. I need you. I love you.**

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Opening her eyes, bright red fluorescent lights shone in Maura's eyes causing her vision to blur momentarily. _11:33_ the numbers said. **Huh. I would have thought I would have slept for a few more hours at least.** Suddenly, Maura felt long fingers running through her hair from behind and she knew what had awoken her.

Turning over, the doctor was greeted by the sight of deep brown eyes, shimmering in the low light coming from the moon outside the window.

"Hey," rasped Jane, a soft smile playing across her lips as her fingers still toyed with honey blonde locks.

Maura's eyes widened. "Jane? I don't… wh-what are you doing here?" Her voice betrayed her shock as she took in the sight of Jane lying beside her. She reached out tentatively to run her fingers over the brunette's jaw, before speaking softly. "How are you here?"

Reaching over with her free hand, Jane pressed a finger against Maura's lips, reveling in the feel of their plumpness against her skin. "Shh. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I'm here with you… now."

The doctor's confusion and disbelief was still apparent, so Jane did the only thing she thought would prove her presence there. "Here, let me prove it to you."

Gently removing her finger from Maura's lips, the brunette slid her hand down to cup the blonde's cheek before leaning forward and pressing her lips against Maura's. It wasn't an overly passionate kiss, but the two women could feel the love behind it as their lips began to slowly move together. After a moment, Jane pulled away just far enough to gauge the doctor's reaction. What she saw only further enforced her feelings of love for her. Maura's eyes remained closed, her breathing had become more shallow, and her lips were still slightly puckered as if trying to hold onto the feeling of the kiss. Jane leaned in once again and placed a quick kiss to the awaiting pair of lips.

"Believe me now?" she asked as she pulled back again, a grin forming as she gazed down at Maura.

Hazel eyes fluttered open, locking on Jane's. "I, I don't know how this can be real, but I don't care. It _feels_ real. And it feels right. But how is this possible?"

"I don't know Maur," said Jane as she pushed a loose strand of hair behind Maura's ear. "All I know is that I love you. And if you meant what you said yesterday, that you love me too, then I don't care what is going on or how this is possible, as long as I can spend time with you. Like this. Just us two." Jane's words went straight to Maura's soul as scarred palms encased smaller, pale ones. Never had anyone spoken to tenderly and so lovingly to her, and Maura could feel the tears of happiness building.

"I love you too, Jane," she said, pulling their joined hands to her lips then resting them against her chest. "If this is a dream, then I don't ever want to wake up. I don't ever want to be without you."

The two women held each other's gazes, silently communicating their love for each other. Laying face to face, Jane made a promise that she hoped she could keep, knew she wanted to keep. "I will always be here for you, Maur. Always." With that, the brunette closed the distance between them once again, capturing the doctor's lips in her own. Only this time, they didn't stop at slow and sensual.

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**You better believe this story will earn its 'M' rating in the next chapter ;)  
**


	7. Chapter 7- Real

**Here's the continuation of Chapter 6, this is where we earn our M rating ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy! -ME**

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Chapter 7-Real

The passion built between the two as wet lips slid over each other and tongues sought entrance. Jane gently pushed Maura back into the mattress as she crawled on top of the smaller woman. As the detective lowered her body down onto the blonde's, Maura could feel a radiating warmth spread across her skin starting at every point their bodies touched.

The doctor side of her mind knew that this heat was probably just body heat being shared, but another part of Maura told her that this was so much more. This feeling was their souls joining, becoming one, somehow in this almost dream-like state. In that moment, Maura didn't care if she was hallucinating, or if this was real or not. The only thing that mattered was that she was able to be there in that moment with Jane—to touch Jane, to feel the detective's lithe body sliding against hers, and above all else, to love her.

The brunette settled in between Maura's legs, her pelvis coming to rest against the blonde's core. Jane shifted slightly causing her hips to move against the doctor's sex, the pressure pulling a moan from deep within Maura's throat. Realizing what had caused the blonde's sound of pleasure, Jane began to slowly rock against her, dragging her lips across a creamy jaw.

"Oh god… Jane," Maura moaned again, her own hips canting up to meet Jane's. Her breathing started to come in shallow pants as the brunette moved down to Maura's chest, placing wet, warm kisses to every inch of skin as she went. When her movements were blocked by the lace trim of the camisole the blonde wore to bed, Jane lifted herself up onto her knees, pulling Maura with her and into a sitting position.

Jane's lips returned to the crook of the doctor's shoulder, inhaling the soft, sweet scent that was Maura as she blazed a slow path up to her ear. Meanwhile, long, dexterous fingers toyed with the hem of Maura's camisole and thumbs caressed the soft skin beneath.

"Mauraa…" the brunette drawled. The deeper husk in Jane's voice sent a shiver through Maura's body as she whimpered in response. "Babe as beautiful as you look in this cami, it has got to go," Jane spoke softly into the blonde's ear. With a quick nip to the lobe, the brunette's fingers grabbed the hem of the cami and began to lift it from the doctor's toned body. Discarding the garment to the floor, Jane's gaze remained locked on the newly exposed skin before her, watching as Maura's chest heaved in anticipation.

Hazel eyes sought out pools of brown as the doctor's slim fingers slid beneath Jane's jaw, holding her in place. "Jane… please. It's okay, I need you. Please…" Maura's whispered words trailed off as the brunette pushed her gently back down onto the bed and resumed trailing her lips across the freckled, creamy chest of the honey blonde.

Maura's fingers tangled into thick, raven-color curls as Jane ravished the skin before her with her lips, her teeth and even her tongue causing moans of pleasure to come from Maura in a near constant rhythm.

"God Maura, do you know… how many times… I've wanted to do this… and just count all… of these. Damn. Freckles?" Jane spoke into the doctor's chest, pausing to place a kiss to every inch of skin she could as she made her way over to one of Maura's breasts.

"Nnnnuhh… nnooo," came the blonde's strangled response as those very lips she had dreamed of captured a hardened nipple and began to suck and bite at it. Jane's left hand came up to knead the other breast as Maura arched up off the bed, silently begging for more contact.

And the detective was more than happy to oblige. Pulling the hardened nub between her teeth, Jane bit down and tugged at the nipple, mirroring her actions with her fingers at Maura's other breast, before releasing it with a 'pop' and soothing it with her tongue.

"Every god. Damn. Day," Jane growled as she moved to switch breasts, her hands now sliding down a smooth stomach towards the waistband of Maura's satin shorts, her fingertips caressing the creamy skin at the boarder of the last remaining barrier between them. Jane's words, and the movements of her fingers, pulled the blonde's eyes down to meet the brunette's. It was then that Maura realized somewhere along the way, Jane had rid herself of all clothing, her olive-tanned skin glistening in the light coming from the outside streetlamps. Maura always knew Jane was gorgeous, and had even voiced her opinion to the detective many times, but right now, in this moment, the blonde truly understood that her imagination of Jane's beauty could never have done her justice.

"Jane…" the whispered words, so full of adoration, pulled Jane's eyes up to meet hazel ones and momentarily stopping her movements. Once she had her attention, Maura gently tugged on the brunette's shoulder, guiding her back up so that they were face to face. "Oh Jane, you are so beautiful. I don't know why I never said anything before. I love you, Jane."

The detective pressed her lips to Maura's, capturing them in a searing kiss before pulling back slightly. "I love you too, Maura. More than you'll ever know," she whispered the last part, not sure if she would ever get to have this again with the blonde.

"Please Jane, just come back to me. Show me that you're willing to fight for me—for _us_."

"I'm trying Maur, I really am. I want to come back to you so badly, I just don't know how. But I do know that for now, we can at least have this."

And with that, Jane pressed her lips once again to Maura's only this time it was so full of passion that the blonde could only moan in response. Jane seized the opportunity to push her tongue into Maura's mouth, coaxing more sounds of pleasure to tumble from her lips. The pair continued to kiss—tongues battling for dominance as lips and teeth slid against each other.

Maura once again felt scarred palms glide across her abdomen, only this time, they didn't stop at the waistband of her shorts. Instead, they continued moving down, pulling the satin fabric as they went until Maura could feel Jane's heat against her own. The two women both moaned at the sensation, momentarily breaking apart.

"Please Jane, I need you. Touch me."

With that one request, Jane slid a long finger through Maura's ample wetness, reveling in the sweet and tangy aroma that filled the air as she did so.

"Oh god, Maur. You're so wet," Jane whispered in awe as Maura bucked her hips, seeking more contact.

"For you Jane, it's always been for you."

Swiping her fingers through the blonde's arousal a few more times before coming to focus on Maura's engorged clit. The ache between her legs was so great, Maura wasn't sure how long she could last under Jane's touch. As the brunette's thumb began to circle around her clit, Maura could only release a series of whimpers and moans whenever Jane hit a particularly sensitive spot.

The sounds the blonde was making only spurred Jane on even further and served to heighten her own arousal. At this point, the brunette knew that the both of them had now ruined the sheets beneath them, and there was no stopping them now. Jane moved her body down until her mouth was even with the blonde's core. The scent was driving her crazy with want, so she did the only logical thing her brain was telling her.

Moving her hand out of the way, but so that her thumb was still working over the blonde's clit, Jane leant in and gave a strong lick to Maura's swollen folds. The action pulled a groan from deep within the doctor's chest, encouraging Jane to repeat her motions. Giving a few more long swipes of her tongue, the brunette continued her path up to Maura's nub, replacing her thumb with her lips as she sucked the swollen pearl into her mouth.

"Jaaannnee!" Maura arched from the bed at the sensation. She was so close, her body coiled like a spring, awaiting the impending release. The brunette ground her hips down into the bed, bracing herself as she slowly pushed two fingers into Maura's pulsing sex, her tongue continuing to flick across a hardened clit. It only took a few thrusts of Jane's skilled digits to bring the blonde right to the edge of an explosive climax. Just before giving her the final push she needed, the detective pulled her mouth back, glancing up towards Maura's face.

"I love you, Maura."

A whimper of need was the only response she got, but the look in Maura's eyes told Jane that her love was returned in full, and that was enough for now.

"Now, cum for me baby."

Maura bit her lip as she watched Jane lean back in to capture her in her mouth once again. The sight of the detective's lips just millimeters from sending her flying into an abyss of pleasure caused Maura to throw her head back against the bed, eyes screwed shut in anticipation. But just as she was expecting the return of the warm, wetness of Jane's mouth…..

"_Beep beep beep beep beep!"_ The alarm on Maura's phone blared into her ear, cutting through her bliss and pulling her to her senses. The blonde looked down between her legs and saw no sight of the unruly dark curls that belonged to her love. No evidence that Jane had been there at all, but Maura was still so painfully aroused.

"NOOO… no, no, no, noooo," she sobbed. The physical pain of being left on the edge of release, still wanting was nothing compared to the emotional and mental anguish of waking up to find that her love wasn't there, and had never been. Everything Maura was feeling released in the form of hysterical tears flooding down her face as sobs wracked through her body. Whatever feelings of fulfilment she had been experiencing were now replaced by an emptiness taking root in her heart.

"It wasn't real. It was never… real," she sobbed breathlessly into her pillow as the tears once again took over, leaving the doctor lying in bed feeling utterly hopeless and alone.

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**Please don't hate me! The ending of this chapter is a little painful, and I can't promise you that this is the last of Maura's pain in this story, but it will get better...maybe. Let me know what you think and I hope to have another chapter to you in a week or two! -ME**


	8. Chapter 8- The 'Other'

**So sorry it took so long! I'm trying to have chapters for this story to post every Sunday or ever other Sunday, and now that the semester is over, it should be more like one per week. This chapter should explain a lot about what is going on and how things are working, but it is a little sad too, just not as bad as some previous ones. If you're still confused as to what's happening, let me know and I'll try to explain it better. Anyway, enjoy! -ME**

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Chapter 8- The 'Other'

Nearly an hour had passed since Maura's alarm had sounded, but the doctor remained in bed, having not moved an inch. She didn't have the energy, nor the willpower to make herself get up. Whatever it was that she had experienced the night before had felt so real that Maura was questioning her sanity.

Was her brain trying to rationalize the fact that she had been asleep, but that everything she had felt—Jane's hands, the weight of the lithe body above her, even the detective's warm breath ghosting across her skin—had all felt so very real. She had never before been intimate with Jane, but the way the brunette had touched her, and had been so attentive to her last night in that dreamworld, had felt exactly how Maura dreamed it would be with Jane, if not better.

The honey blonde continued to lay on her side, her knees curled up to her chest as if trying to physically hold her herself together. **If only Jane was here, she would tell me that I'm not crazy, and that everything is going to be alright.**

But Jane wasn't there. Her Jane was still lying unconscious in a hospital bed several miles away, with no indication of when she would wake up. Maura didn't realize she had begun to cry again until her tears rolled off her cheek and onto her arm that was clutched around her legs. Once that happened, a sob tore its way through her chest and Maura couldn't hold back any longer.

The grief of losing her best friend, her partner, and her soul mate all before ever being able to tell Jane of her feelings was too much for Maura to bear. A heart-wrenching wail of pain filled the room as the intensity of the doctor's crying shook her whole body, and all she could do was hold her legs to her even harder hoping that maybe she could make her pain disappear.

Her sobs continued for several minutes until the sound of her phone ringing began to pull Maura back to the present. The soft melody of Debussy's Preludes for Piano floated through the air. The calming notes of Angela's ringtone were a stark contrast to the torrent of emotion that was whirling inside of the doctor. Not quite composed enough to answer, Maura let it go to voicemail, knowing that Angela would leave her a message. Sure enough, the little icon appeared on the screen alerting the honey blonde to the fact that that she had a new voicemail.

Once she had calmed herself enough, Maura reached over to the bedside table and entered her password to retrieve the message before holding it up to her ear as she moved into a sitting position.

_"Hi Maura. It's Angela. I just wanted to call and give you an update on Jane. She hasn't woken up yet, but there are some things I think you need to hear from the doctors. I hope I didn't wake you up, but please come back to the hospital when you can. I'll see you soon. Bye."_

Although the elder Rizzoli didn't explicitly say anything was wrong, Maura knew from her tone that something was not right with Jane. It took mere seconds for the doctor to leap from the bed, quickly throwing on a pair of worn jeans and one of Jane's BPD t-shirts, not caring if it was her typical "Dr. Isles-attire" or not. She did take a moment to splash some water on her face, trying to rid her eyes of their puffy redness before facing Angela, knowing the woman would only question her about what was wrong. Gathering herself as best as she could, Maura then flew from her bedroom, slipping into a pair of simple flats and grabbing her keys on her way out the door.

* * *

The honey blonde arrived at the hospital in record time, not quite sure how she had gotten there since her mind had been occupied with thoughts of Jane and what could possibly be wrong.

**What if she's dying? What if she's got some kind of infection?** The doctor tried to shake the thoughts from her head. **Stop it Maura. You don't like sentences that start with 'What if's.' **But there was still this nagging feeling that she was not going to like what she heard once she spoke with Jane's doctors.

Making her way into Jane's room, the sight of the brunette lying in her hospital bed, surrounded by beeping machines and monitors calmed the blonde, however slightly, but also further confused her as memories of last night's 'dream' flooded her brain. Angela was perched on a visitor's chair at the side of the bed clasping Jane's right hand between her own. She too had clearly been crying.

Stopping at the foot of the bed, Maura was once again struck by a feeling of dread.

"Angela?" the honey blonde's voice came out softly and uncertainly. Her fear of what she might hear was evident.

"Maura," replied Angela, wiping her cheeks and taking a deep breath before trying to muster a soft smile for the younger woman. "I just called you a little while ago."

"I know. I got here as fast as I could," she said meekly, never pulling her eyes away from Jane's form. "You said there was news?"

"Oh, yes. Jane's doctor came in maybe an hour or so ago and looked over her charts. He's ordering a few tests, but he wanted to give us an update. And I… well, I thought you would want to hear from him what he said. I'll, uh, I'll go see if I can find him," Angela said before placing a kiss to her daughter's forehead then making her way to the door. She stopped next to Maura and placed a hand on the honey blonde's shoulder, giving a light squeeze. "You are family, Maura. You always have been and always will be, no matter what, okay? I just want you to know that."

With that, the Rizzoli matriarch exited the room, leaving Maura standing alone in the room with Jane. The doctor made her way to the now vacated seat at the brunette's side, sitting down and pulling Jane's hand into her own.

"Oh Jane, what is going on? I'm starting to wonder what is real and what isn't. Last night I…" Maura paused to glance toward the doorway, ensuring that no one was listening to her next words. "Last night, I had this dream, well…at least I think it was a dream, and in it, we…we were, together. As in _together_, intimately. And it just felt so real Jane. When I woke up and you weren't actually there, it was as if my heart had shattered into pieces, even though I know that isn't physically possible unless my heart had first been frozen with liquid nitrogen then broken through the application of some force…"

A sudden warmth radiating through her shoulder stopped Maura's words in her throat. She knew that warmth, had felt it before. Quickly turning to look over her right shoulder, she saw the source of that warmth.

"Jane?" she whispered. Not quite wanting to believe her eyes.

Jane smiled her full on Rizzoli grin, the warm sensation along Maura's skin increased in intensity. "You're rambling, Maur."

"But…I..how?" Words escaped the normally composed doctor as she glanced between the Jane standing before her, and the Jane that lay in the hospital bed, whose hand Maura was grasping onto.

"Once again, I don't know Maura. But I'm here, and I remember last night too," she said with a grin as she raised an eyebrow suggestively. "I remember how beautiful you were, and in those moments I didn't think I could love you anymore, but I did, especially just as you were about to… you know. But then you just…vanished."

The look on Jane's face showed that she was just as confused as the honey blonde seated before her. Maura took one more glance down at the Jane lying in the hospital bed before rising to face the Jane standing behind her. The movement caused the brunette's hand to slip from Maura's shoulder, the honey blonde immediately missing the warmth it had caused.

"Vanished? Jane, my alarm woke me up. It had to have been a dream because when I woke up, I was no longer with you, but in my bed at home. Alone." The sadness that washed over Maura's face as she finished speaking made Jane's heart break for the other woman. The last thing she had ever wanted to do was make the doctor feel alone or unwanted.

The brunette reached to tuck a loose strand of blonde hair behind Maura's ear, but instead of touching silky curls, her fingers just ghosted right through. Disappointment crossed her own features at her inability to touch the blonde.

"But Maura, how could it have been a dream if I remember it too? I was _there_, and now I'm _here_," Jane spoke softly at first, but then frustration echoed in her next words. "And how is it that I could touch you then, but I can't now? I just, move right _through_ you. As if I was a ghost!"

Maura paused for a moment, she had wondered that very same thing, but her scientific brain could come up with no answer. "You know I don't believe in ghosts, Jane. But you're right, somehow you are here, but you could just be a figment of my imagination—a hallucination caused by the emotional and mental trauma that your situation has brought me."

Jane through her hands up in frustration. Yes she secretly loved when Maura went on her little fun-fact rants, but now was not the time. "Stop Maur. Please just stop with the Google-mouth right now. I have a theory, and I don't think your science will appreciate it, but I'm going to tell you anyway."

The brunette took a deep breath before running her hands through her hair, trying to ground herself for what she was about to say. "I think that when you go to sleep, you and I are able to somehow… _be_ together, like in some other kind of reality." Maura opened her mouth to argue that that was impossible, but Jane held up a hand, urging her to wait.

"Just, hold on, Maur and listen. Try not to over analyze this in that big brain of yours and instead listen with your gut."

"But Jane, you know I don't like to listen to my intestines," she interrupted before a look from Jane stopped her.

"Please, Maura. Just this once." Maura sighed, before nodding her assent. "Now, here me out. When you are awake, you obviously can see me in this… form, and you can see me there, physically lying in that bed. There I'm in a coma, a half-sleep kind of state were I'm not fully alive, but I'm not dead. I exist in some, in-between or 'other' state and when you go to sleep, you are able to access that 'other' state. You following me?"

The blonde nodded hesitantly, confusion plainly written across her features.

"Okay, so when you are awake and not in the 'other', I can't physically touch you. Instead, I go right through you, but you can still feel me… sorta. You can feel my warmth, or at least that something is there, right? Well when you're in the 'other', because you're in the same state as I am, you can feel me. You can touch me, and hold me, and I can feel you. As long as we are in the same state of existence together, we can feel each other, kiss each other, and… touch each other." Jane blushed slightly at that last part.

Maura smiled softly. **Even in this 'other' form, she still gets embarrassed when talking about sex.**

"So, am I making any kind of sense to you, Maur?" the brunette asked hesitantly as she glanced over the blonde's shoulder to her own comatose body.

The doctor opened her mouth in disbelief, words not quite forming until she finally found her voice. "I.. think so?" she said, her voice rising to a question at the end. "Everything you've said lines up and provides an explanation for all of this, but logically it still doesn't make any sense. I mean, if this is possible, surely something like this has happened before and there should be articles or studies about this type of phenomena."

"But Maura, what if everyone who has ever experienced this has passed it off as some kind of hallucination, or loss of sanity, like you did?"

Hazel eyes narrowed in thought. "Well, you could be right. I mean, any self-respecting physician would say this phenomena was a manifestation of some emotional trauma…"

"Exactly!" Jane interrupted. "But Maura, you know you, and you know me. You know us. Doesn't this _feel_ real to you? This can't be just you hallucinating, because I feel it too. My gut says I'm right, and you know my intestines are never wrong," she said with a smirk.

The honey blond sighed in defeat. "You could be right Jane, I just don't know how to believe this, or what to do with this information. Things would be so much easier if you would just wake up and we wouldn't have to worry about all this 'other' existence… stuff."

"Did the great Dr. Isles just use the word 'stuff'?" joked the brunette, her dimples popping out as she chuckled. Receiving a stern look from Maura, Jane settled down.

"I'm trying, Maur. I really am. I want to wake up, I really do, but every time I try, there's something holding me back. It's like a weight pushing down on my chest, as if I was underwater and someone was holding me down. I can see the surface, I can see you, but I can't quite reach it. I'm sorry," she said dejectedly, her eyes locking on her shoes and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

Maura moved her hand to lift Jane's gaze to her own, but stopped when she remembered that it wouldn't work and dropped her hand back to her side. "Jane, look at me. We are going to figure this out. I'm trying to be strong, but without you, I don't know how much longer I can be. So you need to fight for this, for us. Come back to me," the blonde spoke with a soft smile, her eyes shining with the love and adoration she felt for her best friend, but also with determination.

"Your mother said that there was a development, and it doesn't sound like it will be good news, but don't give up Jane. You can't give up."

Jane's eyes began to brim with tears as she battled with her internal feelings of defeat. "I'll try Maura, but I don't know what else to do. I don't know how much longer I can be held down before I drown…" She spoke softly, leaning in to press her lips to Maura's temple, leaving a warm sensation along the blonde's skin.

"I love you, Jane. Just remember that, hold on to that. And we'll find a way. Come back to me, please."

"Maura?" Angela's voice from the doorway pulled the blonde's attention from Jane. "Honey, who are you talking to?"

"Oh I was just…" Maura turned and Jane was gone. Only her comatose body remained in the room and the doctor immediately felt the loss. She cleared her throat before looking back to Angela and offering a soft smile. "I was just talking to Jane."

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**Ta-dah! I hope that explains most of how Jane is there, but not there. And how they were able to "touch" in the last chapter but not the other times. Okay, hopefully I'll be back soon with an update, AND hopefully and long, satisfying ending for my other story "Toxicology Reports" (for those of you who've read that too) which I feel like I've abandoned for the last two months... okay bye!**


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